The goal of this paper is to contribute to a wider debate on the relationship between ideas and public policy. This article examines South Africa's Child Support Grant. The aim is to identify the ideas that have influenced the programme's design and implementation in its different stages. The actors involved in the promotion of certain ideas, their strategies and the barriers and the drivers to the crystallization of the ideas into public policy are also examined.

In previous work I have argued that deagrarianisation rather than urbanisation has driven welfare state-building across much of Africa, in contrast to the historical experience of much of Europe and Latin America. Is this still true now, in the 21st century, amidst rapid urbanisation and the spectacular emergence of mega-cities in Africa? This paper examines whether, how and why urbanisation has shaped the dynamics of welfare state-building in Africa. Insofar as urbanisation has had less effect than might be expected, the paper assesses why through analysis of the political power and policy preferences of urban constituencies. The paper draws on case-study research across East and Southern Africa through the "Legislating and Implementing Welfare Policy Reforms" research programme (covering primarily Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania/Zanzibar, Zambia, Malawi, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Lesotho), as well as on analysis of cross-country and longitudinal data on public opinion from Afrobarometer.

Previously neglected in social assistance programming in African countries, there is growing interest from donor institutions and governments in developing disability-inclusive social protection in Africa, either through categorical targeting or including them in mainstream cash transfer schemes. Accurately targeting disabled people for disability benefits is notoriously difficult, particularly in low-resource contexts, largely because of the administrative complexities of assessing the existence and severity of disability. This paper details and critiques the models and methods used to assess eligibility in existing programmes on the continent. It focuses particularly on the cases of Zambia and South Africa to illustrate some of the street-level challenges of disability determination, which are influenced both by policy design and implementation context. Both countries have experimented with multiple models of assessment, but eligibility is currently based on the findings of medical officers, who have significant discretion in interpreting and applying eligibility criteria, leading to inconsistencies in practice and inclusion and exclusion errors. Unpacking these challenges provides learnings for the development of such programmes in Africa and highlights the important role that frontline workers play in shaping social policy implementation. 

The rise of neoliberal ideology during the 1980s and 1990s was almost universally followed by the major transformation of the welfare state, characterized by the "silent surrender of the public responsibility". Welfare reforms had strong emphasis on the "personal responsibility" over rights, and the whole system became more restrictive.

At the same time, the region of Southern Africa, despite a strong influence of neoliberalism, took a different path regarding the social welfare. A "new way of thinking" about poverty, unemployment and social rights emerged and the region became a valuable source of some ingenious and innovative responses to the most urgent social risks.

It became self-evident that wage labor based livelihoods are simply not going to return and that a new forms of redistribution had to be installed. The focus had been shifted from the production to the redistribution and (un)conditional cash transfers were introduced, rooted in a strong conviction that "it is better to give money to the poor people directly" so that they can find an effective ways to escape from the poverty trap. These programs are non-contributory, paid directly from the state, while payments are made regardless of employment history. They represent a "rightful entitlement to income".

Rigorous evaluations suggest that cash transfer programs reduce immediate poverty, improve nutrition, stimulate local economy, promote investment and help creating jobs, and, at the same time, contribute to the deconstruction of the widespread and persistent myths on welfare and welfare recipients.